Guard post and rail structure for scaffolds



Dec. 24, 1940. I SPENCER 2,226,359

GUARD POST AND RAIL- STRUCTURE FOR SCAFFOLDS Filed Jan. 20, 1940 v INVENTOR -A." ATTORNEY- FZ 3 T 7 35 :52 31 3 .32 F

Patented Dec. 24, 1940 GUARD Pos'r RAIL STRUCTUREFOR SC'AFFOLDS .IEverett'B. Spencer, MountLebanon, Pa., assignor to The Rust Engineering Company, Pitts-' burgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Applicatioh-Janu-ary-ZO, 1940, Serial No. 314,807

11 claims.

The present invention -arelates to .scafiolding and consists in certain new'andusefulimprovements in guard post and guard rail structure for the same. 1

While the inventionis :highlyuseful inconnection with various'typespf scaffolding, it is particularadapted to the .type of-scaffolding used in the repair and wrecking of chimneys,such as high smoke stacks. In such operations it is usual to' employ a plurality of triangular'brackets,usually made of wooden elements, which are arranged. about the perimetral surface of the chimney and -suspended ..by-means of hooks' from a'cable stretched around themhimney, "and 'floor boards supported 'by the brackets. When it is necessary to elevate the scaffolding, a second cable is stretched about the chimney at the proper higherelevation, a second set of brackets is suspendeditherefrom .and the fioor boards are raised tothe' upper'setof brackets. When it is again necessary to raise-theilevel of the scaffold, the first set of brackets eisilifted .up tothe new'level and suspended -on-a cable stretched at the proper-elevation and the floor boards are again raised, and" these operations are repeated until the final .elevation is obtained. Thisis vknown I as scaling the chimney.

When thescafiolding hasattained a considerable elevation, -it is .frequently desirable to provide and some localities require theiprovision of guard railsto prevent accidents-due to the fall of rwork men or the dropping of bricks, tools and .other materials or debris. Such guard rails .areirequentlyusedto support-canvas or: netting shields .to prevent the-fall of-debrisrand the like.

In chimney work'itisimportant thatthe triangular brackets be relatively light so. thatthey may readily be raised .and handled by .theworkman and thus the permanent attachment of metal guard posts to support the guard rails or shields, as 'has'beenproposed in the art, is objectionable as itrenders the brackets heavy and awkward to handle, and also inconvenient to .store .and transport.

Again, in some instances theuse of metal posts, whoseflower ends are threaded and screwed into metal sockets mountedqon the horizontal beams of the brackets has been suggested. The fixing of such .posts in place andtheir removal from the sockets takes ..too much time and care .and the threadsarelikely to become. so ..damaged as to be hard to. screwtinto the sockets. and .theilatterare likely ,tolbecome filled with. dirt. or mud.

One of the principal objects of the present invention .is .the provision of a guard post which (Cl. 304-37) 7 may be conveniently mounted on and-dismounted from the bracket .or. other scaffold support, so

that when theguard rails; are not required, as where the scaffold is near ,the ground, the'posts .are not in place to add to the weight of the brackets ;or interfere with the work but-may be 'leit'piledon the-ground untilneeded but may be quickly raised to the scaffoldand put-in place when required. In scaling-the chimney .such posts may be readily dismounted from the scaifold and raised to the.newly installed brackets .and mounted in place,l;no unscrewing from or screwing into brackets being required.

The guard post hereinafter describedand illusrtrated .in the accompanying drawing accom- :5"

.plishesthe above object.

.Another object in view is theprovisionof .a satisfactory guard post which is of lighter weight and therefore moreconvenient and safe to han- .dle inthe-scaling operation than those now in use or proposedin the art. I

This object isaccomplished-by the type=of post hereinafter described, Another objectis the provision of a r'norecon- 'venientand reliableliorm .of guard rail and c'onnectionlbetween the guard rail and the guard .posts; .that lends itself to more rapid adjustment in place, and. removal .afteruse, and which will be .of a stronger and more reliable structure.

object is attained byethei use of the -im: .proved guard rail and .attachmentthereof to the .posts' hereinafter described.

Other novel features of constructionand also of arrangement of parts will-appearfromithe'following description. .In theaccompanyingdrawing, .wherein is illustrated. a .practical'embodiment of i the principles ofltheipresent.invention.Fig. Lis a sideelevation of alti'iangular scaffold bracket with. aguard post mounted thereon .and handrails supported by the guard .post; r .Fig. :2 is an elevation of thesamelookingirom .the left .in Fig. 11 -andshowing the horizontal beam and the brace of thebracket in section along the line -2-2 in Fig.1. d I

Fig. .fl3 'is anenlargedlplan view vof the top of the post and the overlapping .ends of twoguard rails; f vFig. .4 is.an enlarged perspective of .the (same; Fig. 15 is an enlargednperspective of thef lowerr end of the post and the boxingcarried'thereby.

Referring to the drawing, I 0 represents the .triangular bracket comprising the vertical post .11, the'horizontalbear'n .l 2 attached at one end .to the post,.and theinclinedbrace L3 whoselower end is attached to the post near the lower end of the latter and whose upper end is reduced in cross section to extend through a hole cut in the beam I2 and spaced inwardly from the outer end of 5 the beam, the upper end of the brace extending above the beam to form an upwardly extending nose M of less width than the beam. This nose serves to form an abutment which prevents the flood boards sliding oil the end of the brackets, and it also serves another purpose hereinafter explained.

I5 represents a block attached to the rear face of the post II near the lower end of the latter, and I5 represents the hook attached to the rear face of the post I I near the top of the latter. In use the hook engages the cable looped about the chimney while the block bears against the perimetral surface of the chimney.

The triangular bracket I0 is usually formed of wooden elements to obtain the necessarylightness in weight.

I! represents the guard post comprising two steel bars I8 held in parallel relation to each other. I9 represents a flat steel strut welded at its ends to the inner edges of the bars I8 intermediate of their length and at the top of the post the bars are held together by the cap strut 20 welded to the tops of the bars and. wide enough to overhang the bars inwardly sufficiently to cover the overlapping ends of two hand rails.

The lower end of the post I1 is provided with a boxing 2I which is arranged to slip over the protruding outer end of the beam I2 to mount the post I! in vertical position on the bracket ID.

The boxing 2| comprises two inwardly spaced and complementary steel channels 22 welded to the lower ends of the bars I8 and of the proper dimensions and spaced sufficiently apart so that they may be slid onto the end of the beam I2 with 40 their webs bearing against the sides of the beam and their upper flanges 23 and their lower channels 24 bearing against the upper and lower surface of the beam, respectively. The fit of the boxing on the beam is such that it may readily 45 be slid onto or off from the beam. Toward the inner end of the boxing the bottom flanges 24 are cut away to provide clearance for the brace I3 as the boxing is slid onto the beam.

Above the boxing the bars I8 are provided with 60 registering bolt holes 25 through which a bolt 26 is inserted. This bolt is intended primarily to draw the channels 22 together to tighten them on the beam I2.

At their inner ends the channels 22 are provided 55 with downwardly extending ears 21 provided with registering holes 28 through which a bolt 29 may be inserted. By contact with the under face of the beam I2 the bolt prevents any upward rocking of the inner end of the boxing, and by contact 60 with the brace I3 the bolt prevents any outward accidental movement of the boxing along the beam. The contact of the inner ends of the bottom flanges 24 limits the inward movement of the boxing on the beam I2.

In practice the post I! when mounted in place is usually arranged to incline upwardly and outwardly slightly, or it may be vertically disposed as shown.

The threaded end of the bolt 26 may be preened 70 or enlarged so that the nut while free to be tightened or loosened on the bolt, cannot drop off and be lost.

When the boxing 2| is to be mounted on or dismounted from the beam, the bolt 29 must be 75 removed. To prevent this bolt from being lost when not in use for holding the boxing on the beam, registering holes 30 in the bars I8 are provided through which the bolt may be inserted and its nut screwed on.

When the boxing has been mounted in place the nuts on the bolts 26 and 29 are tightened, thus clamping the channels 22 into rigid engagement with the beam I2.

It is obvious that the post I1 is of relatively light weight and may thus be quickly and conveniently mounted on and dismounted from the beam, and when mounted in place forms a stout support for the hand rails and the like.

Welded to the inner edges of the bars I8 just below the cap strut 20 is the trough member in which the overlapping ends of the flat metal I hand rails 3| are received, the trough being wide enough so that the rails may be dropped into the trough in front of the overhanging front edge of the strut 20. The extremities of the two rails are flanged in opposite directions as at 32, which flanges, by engaging the side of the post and the end of the trough, respectively, prevent the longitudinal withdrawal of the rails from the trough.

33 represents an abutment bolt working in a threaded hole in the front wall of the trough 35 and arranged to impinge against the overlapping ends of the rails 3I. Thus by screwing in the bolt 33 the rails are forced under the overhanging portion of the cap strut 2i! and wedged rigidly against the back wall of the trough 35. Thus the rails are held against accidental movement both longitudinally of the rails and also vertically. By backing off the abutment bolt the rails are loosened in the trough and may be lifted out of the same.

34 represents a vertically disposed cleat welded to the face of the intermediate strut I9 to enable a rope or other safety device or shield to be adjusted to the post intermediate of the height of the latter.

It is evident from the foregoing that the guard post and guard rail structure hereinbefore described is of inexpensive yet rigid construction; that it may be readily mounted on the brackets after the latter have been mounted on the chimney and may as readily be removed and shifted to a higher scaffold 'during the scaling operation. The structure may be stored and transported in small compass and because of its light weight may be conveniently lifted and handled by the workman.

While, for the sake of illustration, the invention has been described as applied to chimney scaffolds, it is evident that it is equally applicable to other forms of scaffolding with great advantage.

I claim:

1. A guard post, for use with a scaffold support which is provided with a projecting element, said post comprising an upwardly extending member, a clamping means carried by said member and comprising a pair of channel members facing each other arranged to be slid onto said element, and means connecting said members and arranged to be contracted for compressing said members toward each other on said element to prevent movement of said post relative to said element.

2. A guard post, for use with a scaffold support which is provided with a projecting element, said post comprising an upwardly extending member, a two-part clamping means carried by said member and arranged to be slid onto the element to straddle the latter, and means comprising a clamping bolt connecting said members for compressing said parts together to fix the post relative to the element.

3. A guard post, for use with a scaffold support which is provided with a projecting element, said post comprising an upwardly extending member, a pair of complementary channel irons carried by the member and arranged to straddle the element, and means connecting said members and arranged to be contracted for clamping said irons toward each other to clasp and to removably fix the post to the element.

4. A guard post, for use with a scaffold support, and comprising a pair of parallel metal bars, struts holding the upper portions of said bars in spaced relation while the lower portions of said bars are free to be caused to converge, and coacting clamping means carried by the lower ends of said bars and arranged to straddle the scafiold support and to be compressed against opposed surfaces of the latter to mount the post in position.

5. A guard post, for use with a scaffold support, and comprising a pair of parallel metal bars, struts holding the upper portions of said bars in spaced relation, complementary boxing parts carried by the lower ends of the bars and arranged to clasp a portion of the scaffold support between them, and means for forcing said parts toward each other to clamp the post in position.

6. In scaffolding, the combination with a triangular bracket comprising a vertical member, a horizontal beam .and an inclined brace connecting the lower portion of the vertical member with the beam adjacent the outer end of the latter, of a guard post, and a two-part clamping means attached to the lower end of the post and arranged to be slid onto the outer end of the beam, and a bolt connecting the parts and arranged to be tightened to cause the parts to converge against the beam from either side to mount the post in position.

'7. In scafiolding, the combination with a triangular bracket comprising a vertical member, a horizontal beam and an inclined brace connecting the lower portion of the vertical member with the beam adjacent the outer end of the latter, of a guard post, a two-part clamping means attached to the lower end of the post and arranged to engage the beam to mount the post in position, and means carried by the first mentioned means and arranged to engage the inclined brace from within the triangular bracket to prevent accidental relative movement between the post and the bracket.

8. In a guard post and rail structure, the combination with a post and a pair of rails to be attached thereto, of an upwardly open trough member secured to the post and in which the ends of the rails are received in overlapping relation, the ends of the rails being enlarged to prevent withdrawal of the rails longitudinally from the trough, and means mounted on the front wall of the trough and arranged toclamp the rails against the rear wall of the trough.

9. In a guard postand rail structure, the combination with a post and a pair of rails to be attached thereto, of an upwardly open trough member secured to the post and in which the ends of the rails are received in overlapping relation, the ends of the rails being enlarged to prevent withdrawal' of the rails longitudinally from the trough, means mounted on the front wall of the trough and arranged to clamp the rails against the rear wall of the trough, and means to prevent the upward movement of the rail ends relative to the trough.

10. In a guard post and rail structure, the combination with a post and a pair of rails to be attached thereto, of an upwardly open trough members secured to the post and in which the ends of the rails are received in overlapping relation, a cover extending from the post and partially overhanging the trough, the rails being inserted downwardly into the trough in front of the cover, and means for holding the rails in the trough beneath the cover.

11. In a guard post and rail structure, the combination with a post and a pair of rails to be attached thereto, of an upwardly open trough member secured to the post and in which the ends of the rails are received in overlapping relation, a cover extending from the post and partially overhanging the trough, the rails being inserted downwardly into the trough in front of the cover, and means for holding the rails in the trough beneath the cover, the extremities of the rails being enlarged to prevent their withdrawal longitudinally from the trough.

EVERETT B. SPENCER. 

